(5) Birth and death of six

The timeline starts with the year 1706

*1706

In the year 1706 was born the first member of the Beaugeois family Jacques Francois Beaugeois. Son of Jacques Beaugeois and Marie Francoise Rambure. His birthplace was Hesdin. He died at age 5 in Hesdin on July 4^th, 1711.

*1709

In the year 1709, June 20^th was born Jacques Joseph Beaugeois. Son of Jacques Beaugeois and Marie Francoise Rambure. His birthplace was Hesdin. He died at unknown date.

*1710

In the year 1710, September 19^th was born Pierre Beaugeois. Son of Jacques Beaugeois and Marie Francoise Rambure. His birthplace was Hesdin. He died 9 months after birth  and 3 days after the death of his brother Jacques Francois.

†1711

Jacques Francois Beaugeois died on July 4^th  at the age of 5 and Pierre Beaugeois died on July 7^th in Hesdin 9 months after birth.

*1712

A special year, the birth of twins………

In the year 1712, May 20^th was born Marie Barbe Beaugeois. Daughter of Jacques Beaugeois and Marie Francoise Rambure. Her birthplace was Hesdin. Marie Barbe Beaugeois died 9 months after birth March 8^th , 1713. 

In the year 1712, May 20^th was born Jacques Bernadin Beaugeois. Son of Jacques Beaugeois and Marie Francoise Rambure. His birthplace was Hesdin. Jacques Bernadin Beaugeois  was  the only child who not prematurely passed away and was able to ensure descendants.

†1713

Marie Barbe Beaugeois died March 8^th in Hesdin  9 months after birth.

*1716

In the year 1716,  June 6^th  was born Marie Barbe Louise Jeanne Beaugeois. Daughter of Jacques Beaugeois and Marie Francoise Rambure. Her birthplace was Hesdin. Marie Barbe Louise Jeanne died February 28^th in Hesdin 8 months after birth.

†1717

Marie Barbe Louise Jeanne died February 28^th in Hesdin 8 months after birth.

(4) A harsh time

Jacques Beaugeois and Marie Francoise Rambure gave birth to six children.

It was a harsh time, fatal disease*, bacteria and the lack of reliable food source was quite prevalent, and infant mortality rates were extremely high. Young children were not expected to live very long. In the 18th Century France, for instance, between 20 and 50 percent of all infants died** within the first year after birth. 

*Smallpox was 'endemic' throughout Europe – meaning it was a constant presence. When the virus reached a dense population with low immunity, it became 'epidemic', and a major outbreak occurred. Epidemics were cyclical; with each passing generation, as immunity levels dropped, epidemics recurred. Four hundred thousand people died each year from smallpox in Europe during the 18th century.

**Nowadays the number of deaths of infants under one year old per 1,000 live births in the same year is 3,37 deaths.

Families of the 1600’s and 1700’s may have valued children for their role in inheritance,  but children clearly didn't elicit the same kind of sentiment that they elicit from adults today. People commonly believed, therefore, that if they wanted only a few children, they should have many more in order to "hedge their bets". Parents couldn't allow themselves to get too emotionally attached to something that was seen as a probable loss. 

Some even referred to their infant as "it" until the child reached an age at which survival was likely. At that time, the death of a baby was probably not the emotional tragedy that it is today. When an infant died he or she was likely to be buried almost anywhere on the premises, like a pet cat or dog. Even the dead children of the rich were sometimes treated as paupers, their bodies sewn into sacks and thrown into common graves.

Four of their six children died after birth within the first year. One child reached the age of 5. Only one child, Jacques Bernadin Beaugeois  born 1712 May 20^th,  survived and played an important role in the inheritance and offspring.

(3) 1680 The earliest known ancestor

1684-1682-1705

The earliest known ancestor Jacques Beaugeois lived in Hesdin, a fief of the counts of Artois.
Jacques Beaugeois  was  a locksmith and married to Marie Francoise Rambure .

Jacques Beaugeois was born on May 8th, 1684. His parents were Jacques Beaujois (deceased May 2nd, 1693) and Antoinette Doudain.
Antoinette must have been born around 1640 as daughter of Pierre Cordier and Jaqueline Doudain ( date of marriage July 18th, 1660.

Antoinette Doudain is later named Cordier (the name of the grandmother of Jacques Cordier in place of the name of the mother Doudain).

Source: CEGP7V  Centre d”etudes Genealogiques du Pays de 7 Vallees. Mairie F-62140 HESDIN (Mr.Patrick Warin). Capelle lès Hesdin registers a town 6 miles south of Hesdin.

Jacques married at about the age 25 in 1705 Marie Francoise Rambure. Marie Francoise was born about 1682 in Hesdin. Unfortunately it is not known who her parents are.  Investigations of other relatives named Rambure have so far been unsuccessful.

(2) Hesdin – France

 

 

 

Hesdin was a fief of the counts of Artois, vassals of the Counts of Flanders until 1180. When Philip, count of Flanders gave Artois as dowry to his niece Isabel de Hainault when she married Philip Augustus of France in 1180, Hesdin and the other seigneuries passed to France. Hesdin in the Northwest of France was founded in 1554 by Charles V. In the sixteenth century the city played an important role in the wars between France and the Spanish Netherlands, which was part of the Spanish Kingdom. Though subsequently the territory passed to the Dukes of Burgundy, Hesdin remained one of a handful of French strongholds, until in 1553 Emperor Charles V ordered the utter destruction of the old fortified town on a rise of ground and built the present town the following year, some 6 kilometers (3.7 mi) from the original site, on the banks of the Canche.
In 1639 the French laid siege to Hesdin and under Louis XIII, it was recaptured for France.

Du Siege De Hesdin 1639 / the siege of Hesdin 1639

 

 

 

 

(1) What's in a name

 

1)     What's in a name - the journey starts

Dear namesakes....... what's in a name? 

Whether your name is Beaugeois-Beaujois-Beaugois-Boosuwa-Bosua-Bozuwa-Bozua we can conclude that we are all family and descended from the same ancestors.

 

Often, the first and last name was phonetically registered. So Beaugeois changed in over 300 years in Beaugois-Boosuwa-Bosua-Bozuwa-Bozua.

 

With this blog I will attempt to make a journey through time. Starting with the first known ancestor Beaugeois in 1684 to the present.

 

In short a journey through time......... From the town Hesdin France to the Netherlands and further spread across the world.